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July 19, 2013

Where to Find Wealthy Clients on Social Media

UHNW more likely to be social on LinkedIn

If you use Facebook to keep up with your social circle, and LinkedIn with your professional circle, you’re no different from your highly affluent clients.

A study by Spectrem’s Millionaire Corner found that affluent investors tend to view these sites pretty much as they were intended, with Facebook a true “social network” and LinkedIn a professional network. Between 98% and 99% of respondents said Facebook was a social site, compared with 84% who said Twitter was social and 78% who said LinkedIn was social.

However, the study found ultrahigh-net-worth respondents, those with net worth higher than $5 million, were more likely to see LinkedIn as a social website than other income groups.

The study found social media use overall drops as income increases. The mass affluent respondents in the study, those with between $100,000 and $1 million in net worth, were most likely to have a social media account at 74%. About 70% of millionaires, who have between $1 million and $5 million, and 69% of ultrahigh-net-worth respondents had accounts. Facebook was the most commonly used site, followed by LinkedIn and YouTube.

More than 60% of mass affluent respondents say they use Facebook, and about two-thirds of those use the site at least once a day. Among millionaires, 55% use Facebook, but they are less likely than the mass affluent to visit the site daily. Just 56% said they viewed the site at least once a day. Half of UHNW respondents said they visit Facebook once a day or more.

Unsurprisingly, younger affluent investors said they use Facebook more frequently than older investors. Among the 35-and-younger mass affluent set, 78% said they use the site. Half of those 65 or older said they use Facebook.

LinkedIn use among age groups was far more varied, the study found. Just over half of those 35 and younger use the site, compared with only 19% of those over 65. More than two-thirds of millionaires younger than 47 use LinkedIn, while just over a quarter of those over 65 use it. Among UHNW respondents, who tend to perceive LinkedIn as more social than other income groups, usage by age group was reversed, with middle-age respondents more likely to use the site. Among users 47 and younger, 23% use LinkedIn, but 56% of those between 48 and 54 use it. For users 65 and older, usage falls again to 35%.

Respondents typically see Twitter as a social site, but actual usage was “low and unusual,” according to Spectrem. Just 7% of UHNW respondents said they use it. Of those, all of the users younger than 47 said they use it for “observation” rather than actually tweeting. Nearly half of mass affluent respondents said they use Twitter at least daily.